Bills to open salvage pools to unlicensed stopped in Alabama
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MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Bills to open auto salvage pools to unlicensed individuals were halted from hearings before the Alabama legislature last week following opposition from the Alabama Automotive Dismantlers and Recyclers Association (AADRA).
SB 193 by Sen. Tom Butler would have opened the availability of non-repairable, salvage titled vehicles to unlicensed individuals who may have, illegally and without regard to the purchaser’s safety or the environment, cosmetically rebuilt these vehicles for profit, which could have placed unwary consumers at risk.
“We applaud the Alabama Legislature for recognizing that opening salvage pools to purchasers other than licensed recyclers significantly diminishes the overall health and safety of the general public and the environment as untrained, unregulated and unequipped workers attempt to handle, dismantle and dispose of environmentally harmful, waste-stream products and hazardous materials,” says Chad Counselman, owner of Counselman Automotive Recycling in Mobile, Ala., and president of AADRA. AADRA is a chapter of the Automotive Recyclers Association
The automotive recycling industry – with $10 billion in sales annually – aims to preserve natural resources and reduce the demand for landfill space while serving as a source for economical and sometimes hard-to-find used motor vehicle replacement parts. Licensed and professional automotive recyclers are required to abide by local and national environmental regulations dealing with waste generated by salvaged automobiles.
“Allowing unlicensed individuals to purchase salvage titled vehicles enables the criminally minded to purchase the paperwork necessary to support auto theft and fraud through VIN switching and cloning”, says James S. Spiller, chairman of the North American Export Committee (NAEC). “This in turn, increases auto theft and fraud opportunities and places the public at risk.”